It's a little foggy now, but I remember at the end of class on Friday a phrase was thrown into the air as we were all packing up our belongings. Someone mentioned how the second great awakening was about individual spiritual revival. I believe it was Arminianism that emphasized the individual's conversion experience. In my notebook I have written "U --> Jesus", which I'm interpreting as an individual accepts Jesus as their savior, as apposed to Jesus approaching them. This peronalism seems to be a pattern within the second great awakening. Religion becomes more voluntary and participatory, a subset of democracy in which one may emotionally invest in.
I can't help but connect this all to Whitman and how he's influenced my idea of democracy to be the promotion of the individual. The second great awakening falls right into that category: promotion of self-discovery, social reform, improving culture... I suppose this makes sense, considering he said that we may all be united under the idea of religion. But the second great awakening came before Whitman's "Leaves of Grass". I wonder if Whitman was at all influenced by the movement. Or perhaps the awakening and Whitman were both influenced by fundamental American ideals.
No comments:
Post a Comment